1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of belts, and more specifically, to a belt extender.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are a number of inventions designed to provide a belt that is adjustable to accommodate an increase in girth of the wearer, either temporarily or permanently. None of these inventions, however, is designed so that it can be used to retrofit an existing belt. Examples are discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,622,954 (Macheroux, 1927) provides a belt with a box-like structure comprising two where the buckle would normally be. The box-like structure comprises two parts that telescope, one into the other, and that house a spiral spring and metal cable. The metal cable is attached to the spring via a hook, thereby forming a retractor. The retractor allows the belt to expand under tension while at the same time limiting the degree of extension. This invention is limited in that it only allows for temporary expansion and cannot be used to retrofit existing belts.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,867,023 (Putnam, 1959) discloses a belt buckle in which spring or magnet mechanisms allow the belt buckle itself to expand when tension is placed on the belt. The buckle comprises front and back pieces, which are connected through the spring, allowing them to spread apart as tension is added. This invention is limited in that it only allows for temporary expansion and cannot be used to retrofit existing belts.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,916,742 (Sobel, 1959) involves an adjustable belt with alternating male and female fastener elements arranged in alignment and medially along the buckle end of the belt. The fastener elements are set at equal distances from each other so that when the buckle end of the belt is inserted through a buckle and folded back on itself, a female fastener lines up with a male fastener, thereby allowing the length of the belt to be set. This invention is limited in that it cannot be used to retrofit existing belts.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,017,641 (Stollman, 1962) describes a belt in which the size of the belt can be adjusted by inserting or removing a “keeper strap.” The buckle itself is fitted with a receiving post. The keeper strap is attached to the belt buckle via the receiving post. The keeper strap comprises a retaining loop, and the buckle attachment end of the belt is inserted through the retaining loop of the keeper strap and also secured to the belt buckle via the receiving post. This invention is limited in that it can only be used with a buckle that is fitted with a receiving post and cannot be used to retrofit existing belts.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,370 (Ihmels, 1974) provides a band adjustment device for garments with overlapping parts separated from each other in the wait or hip region. The invention comprises a belt with two ends; one end of the belt has perforated holes for engaging the tongue (or spike) of the belt buckle, and the other end of the belt comprises a strip with a longitudinal slot. The strip is attached to the belt buckle by a device that is attached to the belt buckle and that comprises a clamping roller that engages the strip. The slot in the strip is engaged by a button-like roller-shaped limiting member. In this manner, the belt can be adjusted on both ends—by setting the tongue of the belt buckle in one of the perforated holes on one end of the belt strap and by moving the limiting member within the slot on the other end of the belt strap and securing the same with the clamping roller. This invention is limited in that it cannot be used to retrofit existing belts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,011 (Allen, 1996) discloses a detachable waist band extender that allows an individual to wear a garment with a particular waist band dimension when the waist measurement of the individual exceeds the waist dimension of the garment. The garment must have a fly opening extending downward from an upper edge of a waist band of the garment, and it must also have a button on one side of the fly opening and a button hole on a second side of the fly opening. One end of the waist band extender is secured to the button on one side of the fly opening, and the other end of the waist band extender is inserted through the button hole on the other side of the fly opening. This invention is limited in that it can only used with garments with a particular fly opening configuration and also because it cannot be used to retrofit existing belts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,280 (Bradley, 1998) involves a belt with a removable buckle and latch. The belt body has a tongue end with a plurality of openings and a buckle end with two longitudinally spaced slots, as well as fastening snaps. The belt buckle can be moved from one slot to the other, thereby increasing or decreasing the functional length of the belt. This invention is limited in that it cannot be used to retrofit existing belts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,526 (Weathers, 1999) describes an adjustable multi-part belt with a male buckle and a female buckle that engage with one another. The belt further comprises an elongated central portion with looped bands and a layer of hook-and-loop fastener material for engaging first and second side portions of the belt. The length of the belt is adjusted by adjusting the positioning of the hook-and-loop layer of the central portion relative to the hook-and-loop layers of the first and second side portions of the belt. This invention is limited in that it cannot be used to retrofit existing belts.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,821 (Malsoute, 2000) provides a trouser belt with an extensible clasp. To extend the length of the belt, the wearer presses on two tappets that protrude laterally from the clasping part of the belt so as to disengage ratchets from serrations and free the sliding plate and buckle. When the elastic portion has expanded to a point at which the wearer is comfortable, he simply releases the tappets, thereby bringing the ratchets back to bear on the serrations by a rappelling spring. This invention is limited in that it cannot be used to retrofit existing belts.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,788 (Chen, 2004) discloses a belt system with an extendable connection between the belt and the buckle. One end of the belt is attached to a plate that sits behind the buckle. This plate is attached to the buckle with springs that extend from the plate to the buckle so that when a force is placed on the belt, the springs unwind, and the belt expands. This invention is limited in that it only provides for temporary expansion and cannot be used to retrofit existing belts.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,842,912 (King et al., 2005) involves an expandable trouser belt comprising a strap with two substantially non-elastic portions and a short elastic portion located between the two non-elastic portions. The belt further comprises a keeper adjacent to the buckle for holding one end of the belt to the other, and the elastic portion of the strap is located directly beneath the keeper. This invention is limited in that it only provides for temporary expansion and cannot be used to retrofit existing belts.
Two other inventions worth noting relate to an interchangeable belt buckle and a belt configuration system designed to assist disabled persons. Although neither of these inventions solves the same problem as the present invention, namely, accommodation of an increase in girth of the wearer, they are worth noting because they relate to belt and/or belt buckle innovations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,440 (Britz, 1981) describes a belt buckle constructed to receive a removable flexible belt loop. The belt buckle comprises a frame with raised sides on two opposite edges that protect a material covering wrapped around the buckle frame and extending between the two opposite edges of the buckle frame. The belt buckle further comprises a hinge element that engages a flanged locking member with a claw grabbing surface for securing a belt strap end against the material covering.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,888 (Wallace, 2004) provides a multi-segment belt system for use with a conventional pair of pants. The purpose of this invention is to provide a belt that can be used by disabled persons. The belt system comprises (i) a docking/loop strap with snap members that snap around the belt loop, (ii) a cinching or pulling strap with a slot at one end and a pull ring at the other, (iii) a loop element with a loop that allows a portion of the cinching strap to slide through it and a means (such as a hook-and-loop fastener) for linking the loop element along the inside surface of a waist band; and (iv) a closure member with a button on one side and a contact binding surface on an opposite side for mating with a contact binding surface on the cinching strap. When fully assembled, this belt system allows the wearer use the belt system by simply pulling on the ring of the cinching strap or a ring on the end of the closure member.
What is missing from the inventions described above is one that allows the owner of a belt to retrofit the belt with an extension piece that works with conventional belts and that allows the length of the belt to be permanently (but removably) increased. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a belt extender that can be used to retrofit existing belts to increase the length of the belt for as long as the extender is installed on the belt. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a belt extender that can be removed to decrease the length of the belt to its original length, if desired.